Sleeping Arrangements
by Moonraykir
Summary: Kili comes home late one night to find his place in bed already taken. Kiliel family fluff.


It was late by the time Kíli's inspectional visit to Ravenhill was finished. The real business—receiving patrol reports, authorizing rosters, and so on—had been completed hours since. But then there had been dinner, and after dinner, beer, and talk, and gaming with the dwarves who had once been Kíli's direct charge and who were still his friends. And so it had been past midnight when Kíli had bid the last guardsman goodnight and left the empty mess hall.

He had briefly considered retiring to the barracks, where there were a few empty beds—his old captain's quarters were occupied by a new officer of the patrols. But it was a lovely summer night blazing with stars, and the narrow soldier's cot held little appeal next to the expansive feather mattress and the warm elf waiting for him at home. So Kíli saddled up Arrow and made the leisurely three-mile ride back to Erebor.

Their chambers were quiet when he arrived, Tauriel and the children long since abed. Kíli slipped quietly into his own bedroom, his thoughts already full of Tauriel, of her scent and the feel of her in his arms. If he was lucky, she might offer him a sleepy kiss…

Yet when he came in sight of the bed, all these pleasant expectations promptly evaporated.

Their bed was by no means little—Tauriel was so tall and Kíli himself liked space to lie sprawling, so he had sized the bed generously —but there was clearly no room in it for him tonight. Two small heads, one dark and one copper, shared his pillow, and Galadion had taken up the space below his sisters' feet. Tauriel occupied her usual place down the right side of the bed, and, snuggled close in her arms to take up the last scrap of space on the edge of the mattress, was tiny Kára.

Kíli chuckled softly. Yes, this was his own wonderful family, and he wouldn't trade them away for anything, least of all for a space in his own bed.

He crept to the wardrobe, found his night clothes, and left for Galadion's room. There he changed, and then climbed into the bed that had once been his own when he had first come to Erebor. As he settled into the mattress framed by familiar sturdy bedposts, he remembered lying alone here on other nights: nights when he had thought of an exiled elf, likewise alone on a mountainside; nights of sheer wracking loneliness and loss after he'd thought she was gone forever; nights, best of all, when he had counted the days till he could trade this bed for a bigger one where she would hold him in her arms. And today, to his most blessed disappointment, even that other bed was still not big enough.

Well, tomorrow, if he timed it right, he could catch Tauriel in bed for a snuggle once the children had run off for breakfast. He yawned and closed his eyes.

The mattress gave a sudden shift and shuffle as someone else climbed up beside him. (Maker, his children could move silently when they wished!)

"Ada," came Iúleth's voice. "We thought you weren't coming home tonight. So we went to keep Nana company."

"I see. That was a good thing to do." He lifted up the blankets so she could crawl under them.

"But now _you're_ lonely."

"Not any more."

"Mm, good." She moved close, till her back was snug against his chest. Kíli kissed the top of her head; her hair smelled faintly of lavender.

"Love you, Ada."

"I love you, too, my little ember."

And with his daughter tucked against his heart, he fell asleep.

* * *

Author's note:

Iúleth (YOU-leth) means "ember" in Sindarin. She's the little redhead who stole Kili's pillow. And Eydís is the dark sister who was beside her. The kids' ages in this aren't that important, but eldest to youngest, they are Galadion, Eydís, Iúleth, and Kára.

Daddy Kíli is the best thing.

Chronologically, this falls after "Nana's Kiln" and before "Spiders." You can see all my Kiliel fics in this series listed in order on my profile page. If you want to get notifications for more stories about Kíli and Tauriel's family, make sure to subscribe to me! I'll be writing more as separate stories.


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